The Uttarakhand government has submitted an affidavit before the High Court that it plans to amend provisions in the Uniform Civil Code governing live-in relationships, proposing stronger privacy protections for couples, PTI reported.

The 78-page affidavit, filed on October 15, outlines proposals such as limiting data sharing with the police, scrapping mandatory Aadhaar verification, and removing the requirement to inform parents of persons under 21 about a registered live-in relationship.

The affidavit came after several petitions challenged the provisions in the 2023 Uniform Civil Code Act and the 2024 Uniform Civil Code Rules, The Indian Express reported.

To address privacy related concerns, the government has proposed reducing the scope of data sharing between the registrar and local police.

While the original rules required details of couples to be shared with the police for record-keeping, the amended provisions state that “it shall be the responsibility of the registrar, officer-in-charge of the local police station, and the district superintendent of police to ensure the privacy of the information”, The Indian Express reported.

The state has also proposed removing the mandatory Aadhaar-based authentication for registration. The revised rules allow “flexibility” by permitting alternative forms of identity verification when Aadhaar cannot be used, PTI reported.

The amendments also modify the registrar’s powers. The original rules authorised the registrar to conduct independent inquiries, including consulting religious leaders to verify the permissibility of certain relationships. This power has now been relaxed to prevent arbitrary investigations, The Indian Express reported.

The registrar’s duty to inform the parents or legal guardians of persons under 21 about a registered live-in relationship has been scrapped, following concerns it infringed on personal freedoms.

The amendments also remove a provision requiring disclosure of pregnancies or children born from live-in relationships at the time of termination, addressing concerns that such disclosures would violate the privacy of individuals involved, The Indian Express reported.

The proposed amendments also include procedural changes to Rule 380 of the Registrar’s Office, which lays out the conditions under which a live-in relationship may be registered, PTI reported.

Under the existing rules, only unmarried heterosexual couples are permitted to enter into live-in relationships.

The affidavit also said that the amendments seek to streamline the process for registering and ending live-in relationships, extend the appeal period for rejected applications from 30 to 45 days and address privacy concerns raised by petitioners, PTI reported.

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